A new office is being developed that combines three different administrative
units, to make all components of sponsored activities more efficient
and user-friendly.

The Office of Sponsored Programs will bring
together existing grants and contracts, contracts and corporations,
and administration and regulations units into one organization
and under one roof. The result of the consolidation will be better
access to these services for members of the University community
and a marked improvement in the way the services are provided.

"The
previous structures had the pre-award administration and post-award
administration completely separate," says Robert Smith, vice provost
for research and graduate education and dean of the graduate
school, who, with Dale Dreyfuss, vice chancellor for business and
adminstration, created the new office.

"These units functioned
well on their own," Smith says."But by combining them we knew
we could make the process of seeking and receiving support much
more effective and efficient."

Smith says consolidating the functions
of the three units into one office makes good organizational
sense. Under the old structure, members of the University community
seeking support for research or other projects had to deal with
separate entities for the sponsorship search and application,
the subsequent award, and the administration of that award. While
these separate units communicated with each other informally,
no integrated strategic policy existed linking the three.

Under
the new office, grant and contract proposal development, contract
negotiations, regulatory compliance, fiscal management, and
audit responsibilities all will operate in a complementary manner.

The
office will have an executive director reporting to Smith. It
will be organized into three teams - development, regulatory
compliance, and administration - each with its own associate
director. The search for the executive director is already underway.

"There
will also be a strong internal development component within the
office, including cross-training aimed at helping each team understand
what the others do and how their functions affect one another,"
says Smith."In addition, we'll be working to provide ongoing
information and education regarding optimum strategies for seeking
out appropriate sponsorships for our faculty, staff, and students,
and exploring the best strategies to make sure we receive as
many of those awards as possible."

Along with providing easier
access to the services surrounding sponsored programs, OSP will
be housed in a single location, the first floor of the Whetten
Graduate Center. This arrangement will require some refurbishing
of the facility and associated systems, including the development
of a dedicated, state-of-the-art local area network that can
manage electronic research administration and electronic data
interchange. This network will ultimately give the office the
ability to electronically route and monitor proposals, awards,
and other pertinent information. Completion is expected in summer
1998.

"The Office of Sponsored Programs will really be a tremendous
benefit for the University," says Chancellor Mark Emmert."It
allows us to take all of our administrative resources oriented
toward sponsored programs and maximize their strengths, while
minimizing the associated bureaucracy. The result for members
of the University community will be a more efficient process
of pursuing and receiving support, which in turn gives them more
time and resources to do vital research."